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January 8, 2008

Padilla sentencing already creating headlines

As detailed in this AP article, Jose Padilla is in federal court today for the start of sentencing proceedings: "U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke, an appointee of President Bush, has set aside three days beginning Tuesday to hear testimony and legal arguments before imposing sentences on Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun, 45, and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, 46." Notably, as detailed in this New York Times article, the broader stories in the war on terror might get continued attention during these proceedings:

Citing disclosures that the federal government had concealed, and in some cases destroyed, videotaped interrogations of Al Qaeda operatives, a defense lawyer in the case of Jose Padilla, the Brooklyn-born convert to Islam who was convicted as a terrorism conspirator, asked a federal judge on Monday to disclose any recordings that might bear on Mr. Padilla’s recruitment into the terrorist organization. The judge rejected the request, saying she had reviewed relevant material and concluded that the government had handed over all the required evidence.